Ways to Keep your Pet Safe over the Holidays, Chicken Wire?

Ways to Keep your Pet Safe over the Holidays

What’s this about Chicken Wire?

Holidays can be an exciting, yet overwhelming time for your pet. Allow me to share with you some ways to keep your pet safe that you may not be thinking of. Chicken wire, though? Huh?

Photo Credit: Sindre Sorhus, Flickr

1. Be careful with those decorations!

Most people decorate a tree for the holidays. Be mindful of your pets with those decorations because some of them are quite fragile and breakable, which can cause quite a bit of damage to a pet’s mouth if they decide to bite down on it. Keep the lower ornaments out of your pet’s reach.

Tinsel – we’ve all seen tinsel come out of … well, the other end of an animal. They do tend to get it swallowed, somehow. Without doing a lot of research about this, I’ll bet that it can also cause some harm if the tinsel wraps itself about some internal organs as well. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

NOTE: I just did a little research after all on tinsel and cats (and dogs too). Here’s what I found. Pet Poison Helpline says:

Tinsel Pretty though it may be, tinsel is a common cause of feline bowel obstruction. After a cat ingests the tinsel they are unable to pass it through their intestines. Once stuck, the cat tries to vomit it out but cannot and will need surgery to remove the blockage. Cat lovers may want to go tinsel free or tinsel light until you know if your cat can resist the shiny temptation.

So there you have it.

And, please be aware that Mistletoe can be very dangerous if your pet ingests it.

It might be a good idea to divert your pet’s attention to the tree by getting them a new toy to play with.

Or … this may seem totally off-subject, but bear with me here … this is where the chicken wire comes into play.

Photo Credit: Mark Lorch, Flickr

Years ago, I read a book about a boy and a pet raccoon named “Rascal”by Sterling North. Have you read it? You may have heard of it, at least. It’s a classic. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it. It’s a nice, heart-warming story.

Rascal was just a baby when the two met and they spent a year together before the boy had to let him go out into the wild. (I’ve had this very same experience. Twice!) Anyway, the reason I mention this here is, if I recall correctly, they had to put chicken wire around the Christmas tree in order to keep Rascal from creating havoc!

So you could do something like that to keep your pets safe. Okay, so maybe I’ve taken this too far. I digress. 🙂 But the book would make a great gift for you or someone you love, however. Just sayin’. Now, where was I? Oh yeah.

2. Don’t Feed Bad Things to Your Animal

Our pets really don’t need sweets and people treats. They really don’t, although your dog will try to convince you otherwise. But some people food can cause digestive problems in your pets. Don’t do that to your pet. Make them a special treat, if you must, but make it something that dogs and cats, or whatever type of pet you have, can eat safely.

3. No Booze for Fido or Fluffy!

I shouldn’t even have to put this here, but I’ve known a person or two that thought it was funny to give their dogs booze. Don’t. Just DON’T. Okay? My “ways to keep your pet safe during the holidays” does not include booze. Period.

4.Stress Free Environment

For those pets that are nervous or anxious around a lot of people and/or noise, provide with them a quite spot where they can retreat if things get overwhelming for them. They’ll love having a safety zone, away from the hubbub. Be sure to provide food and water for them, and their favorite toys, of course.

Ways to Keep your Pet Safe over the Holidays

MY QUESTION FOR YOU TODAY: Are there any animals you know of that you would like to see featured here on my blog? Is there any creature that you would like to learn more about? Or, do you have a story you would like to submit about a pet you have? I would love to hear from you in the comment section below, or please email me directly at jeanne@animalbliss.com

Born in Nova Scotia, I moved to the United States 20+ years ago.I am a dedicated lover of animals and fight for their rights and protection.I love people too, of course, and enjoy meeting folks from all walks of life.I enjoy philosophical discussion, laughing, and really odd ball stuff.I hope you enjoy my site.Leave me a comment to let me know you were here!Peace out.

I wish I could get my husband to listen to #2! No matter what time of year it is. Our poor Rottweiler (7 years old now) gets all the table scraps: from filet mignon to soup to cinnamon rolls. I feel so bad for him. I keep thinking in my head “one day, our pup is gonna have a coronary.”

My husband is a sucker for big brown eyes too. It’s hard to resist, I know, but we’re not doing them any favors by feeding them people food. Filet mignon? Lucky dog! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, Danielle! I appreciate you. 🙂

Jeanne Melanson is just an ordinary gal from Nova Scotia, now living in Michigan.

Her animal family has included 13 Alpine Goats, 40 Chickens, 20 Turkeys, 3 Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs, a number of Turtles, 2 Raccoons, 1 Opossum , her share of Cats and Dogs, and a Bearded Dragon named Shirley.